C-SPAN didn’t air ‘single person clapping’ caption during JD Vance’s speech

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance addressed supporters Aug. 21 at a campaign rally in Asheboro, North Carolina. The Ohio senator’s remarks were widely covered and shared in the media, including on C-SPAN, which aired Vance’s speech. 

A screenshot of that broadcast is circulating on social media with a purported subtitle knocking Vance: “(single person clapping).”

“LMAO @cspan caption person for the win,” said one Aug. 28 X post sharing the image. 

“Even closed captioning doesn’t like JV Vance,” another said. 

“Is there a Pulitzer for subtitles?” a third said. 

But C-SPAN aired no such caption, Robin Newton, a spokesperson for the network said. 

“We checked out captioning log,” Newton said. “That image is fake. It never appeared on C-SPAN.” 

A time stamp is visible in the image — 10:10 am PT — and we found the precise moment that appears in the screenshot, at about the 16:25 mark of this video on C-SPAN’s website. Vance was connecting his opponent, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor, to China and saying voters need to elect former President Donald Trump back into office. A few seconds later, around the 16:28 mark, a caption appears that says, “(cheers and applause).”

We rate claims that C-SPAN aired the caption “single person clapping” False.